The latest pilot of the program is being run in Emerald and the surrounding areas by Goldings Contractors, The Salvation Army Employment Plus and New Horizons Safety and Training, to encourage development of the next generation of workers, and to improve and sustain economic growth for local communities.

The program received a great deal of interest within the Emerald area and successful students had to go through an initial selection process in order to identify the “best fit”

The final 11 participants, including eight indigenous students (three of which are female), are currently working through a number of competencies that involve classroom-based training, onsite training and assessment, simulation-based training, First Aid training, Defensive Driver training and minesite engagement.

Past programs have shown a very high success rate for securing graduate students in full-time work in the industry.

Mining Industry Skills Centre CEO Derek Hunter said the Work Readiness Program was developed in response to industry’s request for a robust entry-level course for inexperienced, non-industry employees.

“It is in these turbulent and uncertain times that we need to focus on our strategic planning and the effective allocation of training resources,” Hunter said.

“Now is the time to be shaping our future so that there will be enough skilled workers available to ensure that we have a strong and productive mining workforce for the future.”